Wire and cable (collectively, wire) as well as a variety of other elongate products and materials are packaged on reels fabricated from steel, plastic, cardboard, wood and the like. The reels include a central hub with a pair of flanges fixedly mounted on either side of the hub. Reels wound full with material can often weigh between 1000 lbs and 10,000 lbs. These reels are transported to job sites and stored without any way in which they can be moved from the storage area or around the job site other than by using a forklift or other tractor, or rolling the reels.
This can be problematic as installing these materials requires that the reels of material be moved to the location where they will be installed. Moving the reels to these locations often requires that the reels be transported across rough or unfinished ground, across floors littered with debris, and through hallways and doorways. When working in large, open spaces this is not an impediment, in that forklifts can be used to secure, lift and move the reels. However, when a forklift is not an option, for example in a confined space, large reels can require three to four (or more) workers to maneuver and move such reels around a job-site location.
Because of weight and friction it can be very difficult if not impossible to turn, e.g., reorient or rotate, not roll a 1000+ lb reel on a dirt or concrete surface. Accordingly, a reel may have to be rolled back and forth, as it is turned in order to reorient the reel. Again, this can be a time and labor intensive exercise that may have to be carried out numerous times a day to facilitate installation of the material stored on the reel.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device and system that allows for storing and paying out material from a reel. Desirably, such a system provides ready maneuverability of a full reel, whether moving from one location to another or reorienting the reel in-place. More desirably still, such a device and system can allow a single user to reorient and/or move a full reel without the assistance of others. Still more desirably, such a system allows for readily loading and unloading a reel from the system without the use of lifting equipment, such as forklifts and the like.